Take it out on me
by Skovko
Summary: Seth is in love with Pandora. She will come to him, angry or sad, demanding his body, and he'll give it to her every time. He wants to be with her but there's just one problem: she's with someone else, someone who constantly hurts her and drives her into the arms of Seth. (Inspired by Florida Georgia Line's song "Take it out on me" and Divide The Day's song "Fuck away the pain".)
1. Purgatory

Seth looked at his phone to see that it was midnight. Only three people would be knocking on his door at this late hour: Roman, Dean or Pandora. As he had just said goodnight to Roman and Dean an hour earlier after driving together back to the hotel, he knew it had to be her.

He sighed as he got out of bed. Not because he wouldn't be happy to see her, but because he knew what had driven her to his room. He ran his fingers through his hair as he crossed the floor and walked to the door.

As always she was a complete mess to look at, and still she was the most beautiful woman in his eyes. She didn't even say anything. She just walked into his room. He closed the door, and when he turned around to look at her, she had already taken her dress off. She stood there in a white set of underwear, sexy as always, and he knew he was dealing with the angry Pandora this night. He had learned a long time ago to read her within seconds.

He grabbed her, kissed her, shoved her backwards towards the bed as she pulled down his boxers, leaving them somewhere on the floor between the door and the bed.

He shoved her down on the bed, and pulled her panties off. No need to try getting her bra off when she was in this mood. He knew better than to stall. She wanted him right away. He placed himself between her legs and pushed his dick inside her as his teeth worked their way around her neck and shoulders. Her nails scratched down his back as she moaned loudly. He thrust into her hard, knowing just how to bring her to the edge fast, and she screamed his name as he made her cum.

How he loved hearing her moan for him, hearing her scream his name, feeling her nails dig into his skin, feeling her move under him, knowing exactly how to please her right. He had taken a pride in finding out what exactly worked for her, and he would use his knowledge every time. She would come to him, angry or sad, demanding his body, and he would give it to her every time. He was in love with her. He wanted her, all of her. There was just one problem - she wasn't his.

But for now she was there, under him, screaming his name as he made her cum. He thrust into her faster, and shortly after he let go himself. He gently kissed her neck before rolling down next to her. He turned his head and looked at her. She stared up into the ceiling.

"What did he do this time?" He asked.  
"Does it matter?" She asked back.

It didn't. He just wanted to comfort her, hold her, let her know he was there for her. She sat up on the bed and swung her legs down on the floor.

"Stay," he said in a low tone, almost begging.

He knew she wouldn't. Sometimes she would stay, but never through the entire night. She would leave while he was sleeping, leave him to wake up to an empty bed in the morning. Even though it hurt him even more, this weird betrayal of her leaving, he preferred when that was the way things would go. At least he would get to hold her shortly and fall asleep with her in his arms. This feeling of betrayal wasn't her leaving him. It was him falling for his own stupid fantasy every time.

She sighed and got out of bed. He watched her put on her panties and dress before she turned around and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Thanks, Seth," she said.  
"Are you sure you wanna go back?" He asked.

He was getting his hopes up although he knew it was pointless.

"He won't be back till the early morning hours. Either he's still at the bar where I left him with his tongue down that redhead's throat, or they have gone to her place now," she answered.

He sighed. Why she didn't leave him, he would never understand. He hurt her again and again, and she still stayed beside him. It had been that way long before she had been driven into Seth's arms, but now that she was there, he wanted her to stay for good.

"So I guess I'll be seeing you around," she said.

He looked up to see her disappear out of his room. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. If only she knew what she did to him. If only he could either let her go or get her for good. Right now it felt like he was stuck in purgatory.


	2. How it all started

Roman and Dean knew that look on Seth's face as he came down next morning to join them for breakfast.

"Another Pandora night?" Roman asked.  
"Yeah," Seth answered in a tired tone.

Roman reached over and gave Seth's shoulder a squeeze. He knew his friend was hurting.

"Eggs, bacon and toast?" Dean asked.

Seth nodded, and Dean got up to fix his friend a plate.

"Good morning everyone!"

Seth immediately looked up at Dolph who had entered catering. His eyes went to Pandora by his side. He frowned. Dolph didn't deserve her. She was too good for him.

"Are you alright?" Roman asked in a low voice.  
"Yeah, man, I'm fine," Seth answered.  
"It's okay to feel hurt," Roman said.  
"You know I am," Seth sighed.

His mind wandered back to when all this had started. He had known her for a while before they had hooked up the first time. It didn't take him long to realize he had feelings for her, but he kept them bottled up, respecting her relationship with Dolph. That was until the night she came running out of a bar crying, and crashed into him by accident as he just happened to walk by.

 _"Wow, Pandora. Are you alright?" He asked._

 _She grabbed his shirt, curled it tight in her hands as she cried into his chest. He looked through the window into the bar to see Dolph kiss another woman._

 _"What the hell is he doing? Let me go in there and put that asshole straight!" He raised his voice._  
 _"No, Seth, please don't," she begged._

 _He looked down at her._

 _"It's not like it's the first time. Far from. It's just the first time he's doing it openly in front of me like that, and I couldn't take it," she said._  
 _"So that's supposed to be an acceptable excuse?" He asked and frowned._

 _She didn't answer. What could she answer? She knew he was right, but she had accepted this side of Dolph a long time ago. Well, not accepted, but learned to live with it._

 _"Well, I'm not letting you stay here like this. Come on," he put an arm around her shoulders, and started walking her back to the hotel._

 _They had gone to his room. He just wanted to comfort her, and they had talked for a while, drinking a bit, and at some point they had suddenly kissed, and that kiss had led to a whole lot more. He had fallen asleep with her in his arms, only to wake up alone next morning._

Her eyes briefly met his as she walked past their table towards the table with food.

"Miss Pandora, how did you sleep last night?" Dean asked in a cheerful tone as she stood beside him.  
"Fine," she answered.

They both knew she was lying. He looked over at Dolph to see he was still standing in the other end of the room chatting with Sheamus. He leaned down.

"You know, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees," he said in a low tone.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

He just gave her a sassy smile and walked back to Seth and Roman. She sighed. She knew what he meant. Everything was there in front of her. She wasn't blind. There was a time Dolph had been trying to hide it, but that was a long time ago. Nowadays he didn't care that she was right there next to him when he hooked up with another woman. He didn't care that he hurt her. He knew she wasn't going anywhere. She decided to skip breakfast, and walked out of catering.

Seth pushed his chair back as he watched her leave the room. Roman grabbed his wrist.

"Careful. Don't make it too obvious," he said and nodded towards Dolph.  
"Roman, let me go," Seth said in a firm voice.

Roman let go, and Seth walked out of catering.

"We better follow him," Roman said.

Dean nodded, and they got up to leave as well. They found him shortly after in the arena. He was standing near the ring, watching her sit on an empty chair.

"Why do you keep letting her get to you like that?" Dean asked.  
"I'm in love with her," Seth answered.  
"Then tell her," Roman said.

Seth sighed. He knew that would be the right thing to do, but he was afraid. Not afraid of being hurt by her because she was already hurting him on a daily basis when he watched her stay with Dolph. He was afraid that he would lose her completely, that she would back out on their secret deal and never come to his room again once she found out how he truly felt. He'd rather feel the pain this whole thing brought him than to never feel her at all.

"He doesn't deserve her," he said after a few seconds.  
"Now that we can agree on," Roman said.  
"Bastard needs a good old fashioned ass whooping," Dean said.  
"She doesn't belong to him. She belongs to me. One day he'll learn that he was only borrowing her until she finally made her way home to where she belongs," Seth growled, and climbed into the ring.

Roman and Dean exchanged looks. It wasn't unlike Seth to become a little obsessive, and they knew he meant it with a good heart, but sometimes he even scared them with the way he talked. Dean shrugged his shoulders and climbed into the ring as well. Roman followed suit a second later.

She watched them from where she was sitting. They were warming up at first, and then practicing some moves with each other. She watched Seth intensely. That man was something else. She knew she shouldn't use him like she did. Every time she would tell herself it was the last time, and every time she was lying to herself. She didn't know what it was that kept driving her into his arms. She used to tell herself it was Dolph's fault, but she knew there was something else to it. Something more. She just couldn't figure out what it was. Her mind was messed up from all the pain Dolph put her through, and she felt herself losing touch with reality more often than she liked.


	3. Dehydrated

"Mind if I join you?" Roman asked as he found Pandora in catering at lunch time.  
"It's a free country," she answered.

He sat down and looked at the plate in front of her still full of food.

"Are you gonna eat that?" He asked.  
"I'm not hungry," she answered.

He let out a small sigh.

"You skipped breakfast too. You gotta eat something," he said.  
"Keeping track of me now?" She asked.  
"Not keeping track of you. Just caring for you," he answered.  
"Well, don't," she said.

He raised his hands up in defeat, and leaned back in the chair. He watched her as she pushed the food around with the fork.

"Where is your mind today?" He asked.  
"Somewhere far away," she answered.  
"Let me rephrase that. Who is on your mind today?" He asked.

She looked up into his eyes, and he held her gaze.

"I know both you and Dean know. It's not like Seth is keeping that a secret from me," she said.

He reached over and patted her hand.

"Seth is my brother. I don't wanna see him get hurt," he said.  
"He's a big boy," she said somewhat annoyed.  
"You're my friend too. I don't wanna see you get hurt either," he said.  
"I'm a big girl," the annoyance in her tone grew higher.

He let go off her hand, and leaned back in the chair again. He felt a touch of anger and frustration roll through him. He just wanted to grab her shoulders, shake her, and scream at her that she was on a wrong and destructive path with Dolph, that Seth was right there in front of her, right there ready to be with her, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell her these things. Instead he went into papa bear mode as he often did.

"Eat!" He barked.

She looked up at him with a cold look, and pushed her plate away like a disobedient child. She folded her arms over her chest, and just stared at him like she was testing to see what he was gonna do about it.

"What's going on here?" Seth's voice sounded.

They both looked up to see him and Dean walking over to the table and sitting down.

"Miss Pandora, so nice of you to join us," Dean smiled.

Seth had to restrain himself as he sat there next to her. He just wanted to do something, touch her thigh, hold her hand, kiss her cheek, anything at all, but he knew better than that. At work they were professionals around each other.

"She's not eating," Roman filled in Seth and Dean on what was bothering him.  
"You're not eating?" Seth looked at her concerned.  
"I'm not hungry," she answered.  
"You gotta eat," Seth said.  
"Why?" She asked.

She stared him down, her eyes challenging him. He opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off before any word came out by the sound of Dolph entering catering as well.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Dolph asked as he reached their table.  
"I fixed you a plate," she reached her plate of food towards him.  
"Thanks, babe," he sat down and started to eat.

She looked at Roman, giving him an I-win-look, and he looked back at her with anger in his eyes. They both knew she had won this round. They would never dare continue this conversation in front of Dolph even though they all knew he was the root of the problem.

Doph quickly finished the plate, and stood up to leave again.

"Let's go, babe," he said.

She stood up and left together with Dolph.

"One of these days I swear to god I'll kill him," Seth growled in frustration.  
"And we'll be right there next to you," Dean said.

She stayed hidden through out the day. As dinner rolled around, only Dolph was in catering to all three Shield members frustration.

"I say we find her, and force feed her," Dean said.

He only got a growl in return from Seth.

"Don't worry, you'll see her tonight," Roman tried cheering his friend up.

They were at the gorilla, watching as Dolph's music hit, and he disappeared out into the arena with Pandora by his side.

"Accompanied by Pandora, here is Dolph Ziggler!"

"Do you think that's why she stays with him? Because she's his valet?" Roman thought out loud.  
"What do you mean?" Seth asked.  
"I can only imagine one worse situation than the one she's in right now. Leaving him and still having to work with him," Roman answered.  
"She could always quit," Seth said.  
"And go where?" Roman asked.  
"To me. She could go to me. I would take care of her, and treat her like she deserves," Seth hissed through his teeth, trying to keep his voice down.

Roman smiled, and pounded Seth on his chest.

"I know, man. Just checking if you're really in for it if it happens," Roman said.  
"I'm in all the way. Whatever she needs. I'll be here waiting," Seth said in a low tone.

They all turned their eyes back to the monitor to watch what went down inside the arena. Dolph was up against Sin Cara. Pandora was standing next to the ring, cheering him on the best she could.

"Something's wrong," Seth said.  
"Besides the fact that she's with him?" Dean asked.  
"Look at her. She's off," Seth said.

They watched as she struggled to keep a straight face and stay on her feet. She was swaying a bit. Clearly she was dizzy. She held on tight to the ring post with one arm, and tried her best to stay in character and deliver her role.

"I told her to eat," Roman growled.

She was sweating and feeling dizzy. The lights in the arena had her body working overtime. Not only had she not been eating all day, she had forgotten to drink anything as well, and she knew it was the last part that was throwing her off track at that moment. She needed water, but she couldn't run off to get it now. She gritted her teeth, and kept her eyes locked at the match going on, hoping it would be over soon.

"Here is your winner: Dolph Ziggler!"

She raised her fist in the air and cheered him on. He rolled out and put his arm around her, and they made their way up the ramp.

As soon as they reached the gorilla, Dolph removed his arm from her. She didn't take many steps alone before she collapsed on the floor. People were shouting and running towards her. She heard them all, but they seemed so far away. She could see them bend over her, trying to get her to respond, but everything was in a blur. She felt the warm and familiar feeling of Seth's hand in hers, and then everything went to black.

"Where the hell are you going?" Seth asked as he stopped Dolph a little later.  
"Out drinking. Wanna come?" Dolph answered.  
"Your girlfriend is in need of medical care, and you're going out drinking?" Seth asked shocked.  
"She's fine. The doctors are taking care of her. They're keeping her over night, so no need for me to stay here," Dolph smirked, and walked away.  
"Unbelieveable," Seth muttered.

Seth made his way to the doctors' station.

"Can I see her?" He asked the first doctor he came across.  
"Yeah, she's awake. She's dehydrated, so we're giving her fluid at the moment," the doctor answered.

Seth nodded a thanks, and went into the room she was lying in.

"Hey gorgeous," he said as he made his way towards the bed.

He took her hand, and looked at her.

"You scared me," he said.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"What are you doing here?" She finally asked.  
"I came to see you," he answered.  
"Why?" She asked.  
"Because I care about you," he answered.  
"You shouldn't," she sighed.  
"But I do. You can't tell me not to," he ran his fingers through her hair.

She shook her head, and moved her hand away from his.

"Please, leave," she said.  
"What? No. You need someone by your side right now," he said,  
"I don't need anybody. Just leave," her tone was more firm this time.

He reached for her hand again, but she moved it further away.

"Pandora, please," he whispered.  
"Leave! Just fucking leave! I don't want you here!" She yelled.

The doctor came running into the room. He gently put a hand on Seth's arm.

"I think it's best if you leave, Seth," he guided Seth out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, she broke down in tears.

Seth threw a lamp through the hotel room in rage. Dean and Roman quickly exchanged a look before Dean tackled Seth down on the bed, and held his arms locked down.

"Let me go!" Seth screamed.

Dean held on tight as Roman made his way over to them. He sat down next to Seth, and looked at him.

"Get your feelings under control, Seth," he said.  
"Just let me fucking go! Let me get out of here and find Dolph, so I can beat his sorry little ass," Seth sneered.  
"And then what? When he presses charges, and you get fired, then what? How are you ever gonna see her again?" Roman asked.

Seth growled, and then he relaxed his body. Dean let go and helped his friend up.

"You're right. I know you're right. It's just so frustrating right now," Seth buried his face in his hands.

Roman put his arm around him.

"Why doesn't she wanna see me, Roman?" Seth cried.  
"She's probably just embarrased right now. She knows she fucked up by not eating and drinking, and on top of that her boyfriend doesn't even care enough to be with her when she needs him," Roman answered.  
"But I care. I wanna be there, and she kicked me out," Seth said.  
"Give her time. I don't think any of us can imagine how confused she must feel right now," Roman said.


	4. Room 108

Seth hadn't gone to sleep that night. Instead he had opened the door, so he could watch the hallway all night. It was rare he was on the same floor as Dolph and Pandora, but this was one of the rare times. She had to pass his room to get to her own. If she by any chance got back, he wanted to be the first one to see her.

He sat on the floor with his back against the bed, still wearing jeans from the day before, but his shirt was long gone. Dean had stayed in his room, and he was asleep in the bed.

Around 5 in the morning a person walked by. He looked up to see her. He jumped to his feet and hurried out in the hallway where she was unlocking the door to her room.

"He's not back yet," he said.

He wanted to bite his tongue. Of all the things he could have said as the first thing to her, he chose to tell her Dolph wasn't back yet. How stupid could he be? She slowly turned around and looked at him. Her eyes were sad, and she looked tired.

"I don't care," she said.  
"You wanna come in here and hang out for a while?" He asked.

She chuckled. Not in a heartwarming way, but in a way he didn't like. She suddenly took a couple of quick steps and stopped in front of him. She reached her hands towards him and started opening his belt.

"Is this what you want? You figured since I'm back now, and Dolph is still out, you could just sneak in a quickie?" She snapped at him while trying to open his pants.

He grabbed her hands and stopped her.

"No, not at all. I just wanna make sure you're alright. Besides, Dean is in there," he nodded his head towards his room.  
"So you want a threesome?" She asked.  
"I wouldn't mind that," Dean's voice sounded from the bed.  
"Shut up, Dean!" Seth growled in his direction.

He let go off her hands, and fixed his jeans and belt.

"I don't wanna do anything to you that you don't want. I just wanna... I don't know... Be here for you," Seth scratched his head.  
"Babe, you're back," Dolph's voice sounded from the elevator.

They both looked towards him as he stumbled out in his drunken state of mind towards them. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"Good. I could really use a good fuck by now," he said as he started walking with her towards their room.

Seth clenched his fists, and took a step forward.

"No, no," Dean grabbed both of Seth's arms, and dragged him back into the room.

Seth was surprised. He hadn't even heard Dean get out of bed.

"You don't go get yourself into trouble like that," Dean said.

He kicked the door shut, and leaned up against it.

"Just because he couldn't find a girl tonight, doesn't mean he should be doing that to her now after the night she's had," Seth said.  
"I know that, Seth, but no matter how much you try to spin this around, she's still officially with him," Dean said.  
"But she's mine!" Seth yelled.

Dean sighed, and pushed himself off the door. He walked over to Seth and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You don't ever settle something like that outside the ring. That will only come back to haunt you, get you fired, and maybe even put in jail. You wanna settle the score, you take it inside the ring. You know damn well me and Roman will back you up. But you gotta be completely sure what you're doing, or you might end up losing her for good," he said.  
"I know, I know," Seth said in a low voice.  
"Is she worth it, Seth?" Dean asked.  
"You have no idea how bad I wanna just forget about her and leave her be. Everyday I tell myself not to text her my room number, and everyday I find myself doing it as soon as I arrive. Yes, she's worth it," Seth answered.  
"Good. That's all I needed to hear," Dean let go of Seth's shoulders.

Seth and Dean dumped down next to Roman at breakfast.

"At least she's eating today," Roman nodded towards the table where she was seated next to Dolph and some of the other wrestlers.

Seth smiled at the sight of her downing orange juice and pancakes. He didn't care what she got in her system as long as she got something in there.

"God, I love you," he mumbled to himself.

The night's show went as planned without any problems. After the show everyone took off separately to drive to the next city. As The Shield had been in the main event, they were some of the last people to hit the road. Seth was checking in when he saw Pandora and Dolph step out of the elevator. She looked at him quickly before heading out of the hotel with Dolph. He knew where this was heading. As soon as he got his room key, he took out his phone and texted her.

 _"Room 108."_

Three hours later there was a knock on his door. He went over and opened it, not surprised to see her there. She looked damn good in that short red dress, and he instantly stepped aside, so she could enter his room.

"God, you look sexy in that dress," he immediately attacked her neck.

She reached under his shirt, and scratched her nails down his back. He hissed, and quickly removed his shirt, so she had better room to move her hands around. He got her out of the dress quickly, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. He walked her backwards like that while opening her bra, leaving it on the floor before he pushed her down on the bed. He leaned down and grabbed her thong, quickly pulling it off and tossing it away.

"Damn sexy," he whispered as he opened his pants, and dropped them along with his boxers.

How Dolph could ever let a woman like her slip away from his side was beyond Seth's imagination. All he knew was that he was happy that it happened. Dolph couldn't give her what she needed, but he'd be damned if he would leave her unsatisfied. He placed himself between her legs and kissed up her thigh.

"So... damn... sexy!" He said between kisses.

She needed to be told just what he thought of her. He knew she needed to hear it this night, and he was more than happy to tell her over and over.

"Woman, you have no idea what you do to me," he muttered before letting his tongue run up her folds.

He grabbed a hold on both her thighs as he worked his tongue on her. She moaned and wriggled as he kept going. When she was getting close, he moved one of his hands down and pushed two fingers inside her. He worked her just as he knew she liked it, tongue and fingers sending her over the edge, and she screamed out his name like so many times before. He could never get tired of hearing that.

He got up to his knees, and was just about to crawl up to kiss her, when she quickly rolled around and pushed herself up on all four. So it was like this today. He smirked as he grabbed her hips, and pushed himself inside her. Who was he to deny her what she wanted?

He thrust hard into her over and over, refusing to let himself go before he had brought her to the edge again. Holding on tight to her as he kept working himself inside her the way he knew she liked it, pressing his nails into her hips, and then he was finally rewarded with her screaming again. He smiled widely at the sound, and he kept thrusting into her while she rode the waves of her orgasm. He finally let himself go with one final thrust.

He leaned over her back, wrapped an arm around her waist, and flipped them both down on the side. He held on tight around her waist, knowing it would only be a short amount of time he would get to lie like that, but god damn it if he would let go of her willingly. She would have to work her way out of his grip.

"Thank you, Seth. Not only for this, but for visiting me at the doctors' station," she said in a low tone.

Her fingertips ran up and down his hand and he enjoyed the soft feeling. He leaned in and kissed her between her shoulder blades.

"Anytime," he said as he worked his kisses up towards her neck. "Are you ever gonna leave him?"

He mentally kicked himself. Why did he have to ruin this perfect moment with that question? She sighed and started moving out of his grip. He tried holding on.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. Please, don't leave," he said, almost begging.

And then she was out of reach, standing on the floor looking at him, leaving him alone on a bed that quickly turned from warm to cold.

"I love him," she said.  
"Do you? Do you really?" He asked.

She didn't answer. She quickly got dressed, and turned around to leave. He jumped out of bed, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I don't think you do. You used to at some point, but now I think you just tell yourself that to make it more easy," he said.  
"Let go," she sighed.

He didn't want to. He wanted to keep his arms around her, whisper in her ear that he loved her, drag her back to bed and make sure she never left. Instead he sighed and let go.


	5. Lights out

Five days where she hadn't been to his room. Five freaking days, and he was going out of his mind. Yes, he saw her around the arenas, but he had to act professional, and it was driving him crazy. There had never before been more than three days between her visits. He knew he had messed up with his last comment to her five days ago. Five fucking days.

And now here he was sitting next to her on the fifth morning in catering, and he couldn't say or do a god damn thing. Dean and Roman were there at the table too, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was Lana sitting next to her, and Naomi next to Lana. He couldn't open this conversation in front of them.

He knew she was somewhat close to Lana. He had seen them spend time together. Somehow Lana always managed to make Pandora smile, and he liked that about Lana. He hadn't really talked much with the Russian himself, but he made a mental note to get to know her a little better. He could see she was a good thing in Pandora's life, and therefore she would be a good thing in his life too.

But right now all he could do was look at Pandora next to him. Ever so beautiful as she always was. How he missed her, missed her kisses, missed feeling her arms around him, missed being locked in between her legs, missed holding her, missed her scent and her entire being near him.

He looked around. No one was watching them. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. It had been five long days. He let his fingers run over her knee under the table. Her head snapped sideways towards him, and she stared him down while moving her leg away. He knew he had crossed the line of their secret arrangement. He quickly stood up.

"Anyone else want coffee?" He asked.

Most of the people said yes except for Naomi who excused herself and left. He started filling coffee in cups, and handed them around to everyone before sitting down again.

Pandora pulled her legs up on the chair, wrapped her arms around them, and leaned her head on Lana's shoulder. Seth couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. He wished she would lean in on him instead.

"Aw, rough night, baby girl?" Lana reached her hand up to pat Pandora's head.  
"Yeah, another one," Pandora answered.  
"We need to get you some sleeping pills. You can't keep up with all those sleepless nights," Lana kissed Pandora's forehead.

"Good morning!"

Seth frowned at the sound of Dolph's voice. Why did he have to come and ruin this morning?

"Care to move?" Dolph asked Lana as he reached their table.  
"You get her everyday. Let me enjoy my five minutes with her," Lana kept patting Pandora's head.

Yes, Seth definitely liked Lana more and more already, and he looked down to hide his smile. Dolph growled something no one could hear before taking the seat next to Lana instead. The conversation started up again, but it was mostly Lana, Roman and Dean that did the talking. Dolph seemed to be in a bad mood, Seth was afraid to accidently speak his mind if he opened his mouth, and Pandora... Who knew where her mind was these days?

The Shield had just finished their match that night, and now they were standing in the gorilla to watch Dolph's match on the monitor. Truth be told, they were watching her, but no one needed to know that. Seth would always watch her, and Dean and Roman were there to keep an eye on both of their friends - Seth and Pandora. They all knew the situation was fucked up.

Dolph came out victorious, and walked out of the arena with his arm around Pandora's shoulders as he always did. Once they entered the gorilla, all three set of eyes of The Shield members were on them. Dolph stared back at them before pulling Pandora in for a deep kiss. Clearly he was trying to show who she belonged to. Something he didn't normally do unless he felt threatened. Pandora knew this behaviour all too well, and she wondered who he felt threatened by. A lot of people were in the gorilla as always. Seth cringed by the sight, and was just about to step forward. One hard look from Roman made him stay put.

"Not here, not now," Roman whispered.

He watched Dolph lead Pandora away, and he just wanted to run after them, and tear her out of Dolph's grip.

"Wanna go punch holes in a wall somewhere?" Dean asked.

He didn't know how else to cheer up his friend.

"Which one of them is it?" Dolph sneered when they had made it back to their hotel room.

She looked at him puzzled, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Which one what?" She asked.  
"Don't play fucking dumb! Which one of them are you fucking?" He yelled.  
"Which one of who? I'm not fucking anybody. You're not making any sense right now," she said.

He started walking slowly towards her, and she backed away as fast as she could until her back was up against the wall.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before. They're always there around you, watching you, talking to you," he sneered.  
"Who?" She asked.  
"The god damn Shield!" He yelled, and punched the wall next to her face.

She ducked her head down in fear, but he grabbed her chin and pushed it back up.

"So which one of them is it? It's Roman, isn't it? He can always sweet talk any woman," he growled.  
"No!" She yelled.

She was taken by complete surprise when he backhanded her, sending her tumbling to the floor. She looked up at him in shock and surprise. He had never hit her before. Cheating, lying, saying ugly things, staying out all night, hurting her emotionally, but never before had he hit her. He seemed just as shocked as she did.

"Babe..." He started and reached for her.

She quickly backed away from him, fear starting to show in her eyes.

"Well, fuck it! I'm going out!" He growled, grabbed his jacket, and slammed the door on his way out.

Seth looked at the time on his phone. 1 AM. It could only be her. Five fucking days, and finally that sweet sound of her knocking on his door in the middle of the night. He smiled to himself as he made his way over to open it.

She was looking down, her hair in front of her face. Clearly she was trying to hide behind it. It was a sight of her he hadn't seen before. He stepped aside, and as soon as she was inside, she hit the lightswitch and left the room in darkness. He could see her silhouette, and she finally raised her head to watch him move in the darkness. Clearly it was the sad Pandora who was visiting him this night although something seemed way more off than usual. It didn't matter. She was finally there again, and he knew just how to treat her even in a sad mood.

He wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he pushed her up against the wall as he kissed her. He stood like that for a minute or so, just enjoying kissing her before carrying her towards the bed.

He laid her down on the bed, and pushed his hands under her shirt. He moved them upwards, lifting up her shirt and finally getting it off her. He leaned down to kiss her breasts as he reached around her back to open her bra and take it off her. She moaned lowly, and he kept going, kissing her down her stomach. He opened her jeans and pushed them down her legs along with her thong, tossing both pieces of clothes on the floor.

"Come up here," she whispered.

He went up to lie next to her, kissing her again while he stuck his hand between her legs, slowly starting to rub her clit. He knew her too well. This wasn't his usual Pandora who needed a good fucking. This was her softer side that needed things to be taken in a whole other direction. He loved both sides of her, but he rarely got to see this one.

"Please, Seth, I need you right now," she whispered as she tugged on his boxers.

He quickly got rid off his boxers. How could he ever deny her any part of him, no matter what mood she was in? He needed her, he wanted her, he loved her. He placed himself between her legs, and pushed his dick inside her. She wrapped her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair and down his back, holding on so tight to him like she never wanted to let him go. He showered her with kisses as he slowly thrust into her over and over.

"Yeah, that's it, baby," he moaned as he felt her walls starting to squeeze him more and more.

He kept at it, thrusting into her again and again, taking his time, moving slowly, giving her what she needed right in that moment. He kissed her neck, and she grabbed on tight to his shoulders as he made her cum. He kept moving through her moans and screams, dragging it out for as long as possible for her. When he felt her body relax again, he let himself go over the edge.

He reached his hand towards the lamp on the nightstand. He wanted to see her. If she was about to leave like she always did, he just wanted to see her before she left. She grabbed his hand and stopped him. This was new. The darkness was new. She usually didn't mind lights being on when they were together. He wanted to ask her why, but he had a feeling not to question her motives right now. Instead he kissed her again before rolling down next to her.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she rolled over on her side. He crawled close to her, and snuggled up against her back, kissing her neck, holding her tight. She didn't seem to wanna leave right away. He smiled out in the darkness. At least he would get to fall asleep with her in his arms this time. He knew she would be gone in the morning, but no one could take away the amazing feeling of having her in his arms right at that moment.

He woke up the next morning, and something was off. It wasn't wrong. It felt really good because she was still there in his arms. The sun was up, it was morning, and she was still there. He never thought he would experience that, but he sure wasn't complaining. He squeezed a little tighter, pulled her as close as possible, and kissed the top of her head. He didn't wanna wake her up. If she would just sleep forever and stay in his arms, he wouldn't mind.

"You're awake, aren't you?" She suddenly asked.

He chuckled and kissed her neck.

"That I am. You know, I could get used to waking up with you in my room," he said.

Before she knew what was happening, he spun her around on her back, and was just about to lean in to kiss her when he looked at her cheek. He grabbed her chin, and held her head locked as he looked at her. His eyes were growing dark.

"What is that?" He growled.  
"It's nothing," she said a little too quickly.

She pushed her way out of bed, and started gathering her clothes from the floor.

"Did he fucking hit you?" He growled as he made his way out of bed too.  
"No really, it's nothing. It was just a little misunderstanding," she pulled up her thong.  
"Misunderstanding? Don't you fucking dare make an excuse for that!" He growled.

He grabbed her arms, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"He put his fucking hands on you!" He raised his voice.  
"Please, Seth, you're scaring me," tears started to fill her eyes.

He let go off her immediately. The last thing he needed was for her to be scared of him. He was suppose to be her base, her safe haven, the one place she could always come to, the one person she could always count on, but right now he was pissed off.

He watched as she got dressed before grabbing her arm again.

"I'm not gonna let this slide," he said.  
"Please, Seth, don't get involved in this. I got it under control," she said.

He pushed her up against the wall, and held her head with both hands.

"I got involved the day you ended up in my bed the first time. No way I'm backing out now," he said.  
"Just let it slide, please. For me," she begged.

He didn't know what to say, so he kissed her. He kissed her hard, holding her up against the wall, never wanting to let her go. The hell he wouldn't let it slide, but right now she just needed to know he was there.

"If he ever puts his hands on you again, I'll fucking kill him!" He growled when he finally let her go.  
"He won't. I promise. It was just a misunderstanding," she said.

She hurried out of his room. He grabbed his phone and sent a text to both Roman and Dean.

 _"Dean's room in five minutes. It's important."_

He quickly got dressed, and left his room to step into the elevator. Five minutes later he closed the door behind him. Dean and Roman looked at him.

"Dolph put his fucking hands on her last night!" He growled.  
"He hit her?" Dean asked.  
"He fucking marked her right under her eye!" Seth growled.  
"Motherfucker!" Roman growled back.

Seth looked at them both, his eyes stopping at Dean.

"You were right, Dean. I need to take this fight to the ring, and that's exactly what I'm about to do," he said.  
"What we're about to do," Dean corrected him.  
"Time to hand out some justice," Roman said.


	6. Declaring his love

Seth was lurking around the arena during the afternoon. He was in search of Pandora. He felt the need to be close to her, to make sure she was alright. Instead he found Lana. He took her aside to talk to her in peace. He knew he had to tread lightly to not give away too much information, but it was hard when all he wanted to do was do scream at everybody to find out how Pandora was doing.

"I was just wondering if you've seen Pandora today," he tried sounding as casual as possible.  
"Yeah, I've seen her," she said.  
"How... Ehm... Have you seen..." He struggled to find the words.  
"Have I seen what Dolph did to her? Yes, I've seen it. I met her in makeup where she went to get it covered up for tonight, and I made her spill the beans. I'm pissed off about it," she sounded angry.  
"You are? What am I saying? Of course you are," he felt surprised about this little woman's rage.  
"I've always known he wasn't worth her time, but it's not something you go tell your friend, is it? I kept hoping she would come to her senses at some point, but instead she's just falling down deeper. I guess it's hard when you've been together with someone for several years. The love used to be there for a long time. Things didn't change over night. He just keeps pushing her boundaries more and more, and she has stopped fighting back," she shook her head.  
"Do you know why he did it?" He asked.  
"Well, because of you guys actually. He caught on that you're always around her, or watching her from a distance, and he thinks she's having an affair with Roman," she answered.

He just shook his head. She made a "hmm" sound, and tilted her head, her eyes burning into his.

"He wasn't completely wrong, was he? You're always there, but he's focusing on the wrong guy, isn't he?" She smirked.  
"I... Ehm... I... Lana... I..." He didn't know what to say.  
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But do me a favour, and get her away from him. She's already on the edge. She's gonna fall down soon, and she's gonna need someone to catch her," she said.  
"I'll catch her," he whispered.  
"You better, or you'll be answering to my Rusev," she said with a smirk before walking away.

"Lana knows," Seth caught up with Dean and Roman a little later.  
"Is that a wise move?" Roman asked.  
"I didn't tell her. She kind of guessed. She's on our side though. She even threatened to let Rusev run me over if I'm not gonna fix this somehow," Seth chuckled.  
"So tonight?" Dean asked just to be sure.  
"Tonight," Seth answered.

Dean cracked his knuckles, and moved his head from side to side.

"I'm gonna enjoy this so much," he grinned.  
"You got this?" Seth looked at Roman.  
"Don't worry. I got this," Roman answered.

"Accompanied by Pandora, here is Dolph Ziggler!"

They made their way down to the ring where Sin Cara was already waiting. She hated that Dolph had started this fight with Sin Cara. Sin Cara had never been anything but nice to her, and now she couldn't talk to him anymore while they were fighting. She cracked a quick smile at the man in the ring before looking away and moving around to stand on the ringside closest to the commentator table. She imagined in her head that Sin Cara was smiling back at her behind the mask. She always had a feeling he was. The bell rang, and the two men locked up.

"Come on, Dolph!" She shouted.

She was running like a robot when she was down there as his valet. Programmed to cheer for him, but never feeling any of her own words or movements. She just had to do it. It was her job. But after last night with him hitting her, her job surely hadn't gotten any easier.

Still it was there, the love, wasn't it? The love she used to feel for him, and that he used to show her all the time. It had got to still be in there somewhere. She kept telling herself he was just under a lot of stress, and one of these days things would go back to normal again. She had been telling herself that for almost a year now.

"What the..." She started as three black figures slid under the ropes next to her.

She looked up to see The Shield in the ring. Dolph and Sin Cara stopped, both wondering which one of them they were there for. The answer was quickly delivered when all three men threw themselves at Dolph. Sin Cara took his leave out of the ring while Pandora entered it.

She ran to them, grabbed the shoulders of the nearest guy, and tried to pull him off. Only problem was that a big guy like Dean just didn't move at all when a small woman like Pandora grabbed him. He yanked his shoulder back, and continued to deliver blows on Dolph. She threw herself on his back instead, but before she knew of it, a strong hand went around her waist and yanked her off.

She was pulled backwards, away from Dolph, away from Seth and Dean that were still hitting him, towards the corner. Roman stopped when his back hit the turnbuckle. He kept his arm around her waist as the other arm went around her chest and pinned her arms down. She struggled, but it was impossible to get out of this man's strong grip.

"Let me go!" She screamed.

He leaned in close to her ear.

"Look at them. You need to see this. This is how we treat a coward who beats up a woman," he said in a low tone.

She looked at them. Seth and Dean were on their feet while Dolph was still down. Dean yanked Dolph up to his knees and held him like that. He looked at her, and pointed at her.

"This is for you!" He yelled.

She looked at Seth, and his eyes met hers before he ran to the rope, bounced off it, and ran towards Dolph. Dean moved away in the last second, and Seth curb stomped Dolph down into the ground.

The crowd was going crazy, but everything was dead silent around her. It was like she had gone deaf all of the sudden. Everything sailed around her. Then she felt Seth's hand on her chin as he lifted up her head. She looked up into his eyes. His voice broke the silence.

"Don't you get it? I'm in love with you! I fucking love you, and I will fight my way through anybody to get to you and keep you safe!" He shouted at her.

And then all the noises from the crowd was back. She screamed out loud, and Roman let go of her. She fell to her knees and crawled towards Dolph. He was out. Medical staff came running in. As she turned her head to look back, The Shield was long gone. Dolph was lifted up on a stretcher and carried out while she walked by his side. She kept playing her role as she was supposed to, holding his hand, looking sad, but inside her head Seth's voice kept screaming at her.

 _"Don't you get it? I'm in love with you! I fucking love you, and I will fight my way through anybody to get to you and keep you safe!"_

How dare he? The anger rushed through her body as she reached the gorilla. Dolph was taken to the doctors' station, but she didn't follow. How dare he? How dare Seth declare his love like that in front of everyone? How dare he take out Dolph like that? How dare he love her when that was never supposed to happen? That wasn't part of their secret arrangement. She stormed off and almost ran down Lana when she reached the hallway.

"Baby girl, what's wrong?" Lana put her arms around Pandora.  
"How dare he? How fucking dare he?" Pandora shouted.  
"Who dare what?" Lana asked.  
"Seth!" Pandora yelled.  
"Oh baby girl, maybe this was a good thing what they did tonight," Lana patted Pandora on the head.

Pandora pushed her way out of Lana's arms.

"I'm going out for a drink," she said and stormed off.

Lana took off in search of The Shield. She found them quickly. The mood was weird. On one side they were happy about what they had done, on the other side they weren't exactly happy about Pandora's reaction.

"What did you expect? That she would jump into your arms and kiss you in front of everyone? She spent years with Dolph. Now, I'm all for what you did to him, but maybe you should have told her about your feelings in private afterwards," she eyed down Seth.  
"Yeah, that was stupid on my part. I just couldn't take it anymore. She needed to know," he said.  
"Yes, she needed to know, but not like that," she said.  
"I gotta find her," he said.  
"Good luck with that. She went out to get a drink, and I have no clue which one of the many bars in this town she went to," she said.

Seth tried calling her several times. She didn't pick up. He sent out several text messages as well. No reply. They decided to split up and search different parts of town until one of them would find her. As the hours went by, Seth got more and more nervous.

3 hours into their search, and Roman finally found her at a shithole of a bar on the edge of town. She was way drunk, hanging over the bar with both empty and filled shots in front of her. A man was trying to make his way to sit next to her, probably out for an easy target to take home, but one death stare from Roman made him think twice about that decision and walk away again. Roman went to sit down next to her.

"What are you doing here, Pandora?" He asked.  
"Drinking," she answered.

He chuckled, and took out his phone to text Seth.

 _"I got your girl. A place called Swallow."_

He put his phone away again, and looked at her.

"You got a lot of people worrying about you," he said.  
"Oh yeah? Like who?" She said.  
"Like Seth, me, Dean and Lana," he answered.

She let out a high pitched laugh, and grabbed one of the full shots. He grabbed her wrist, and took the glass out of her hand.

"You've had enough," he said in a firm tone as he put the glass down on the counter.  
"Don't you ever get tired of being a dad to everyone around you?" She asked.  
"Someone's gotta do it, and I like to keep my friends safe," he answered.  
"Like you held me back against my will in the ring today? Was that you keeping me safe?" She spat.  
"It was. You might not see it that way right now, but deep inside you know we did what we had to do," he answered.  
"I don't need your fucking help!" She sneered.  
"Really? You could have fooled me," he answered.

He put his hand on her cheek. His thumb traced over the mark under her eye, making her hiss in pain. She pushed his hand away and stood up. She meant to walk out on him, but the room was spinning, and she nearly fell to the ground. He caught her with an arm around her waist, and held her up.

"God, Roman, why does it hurt so much?" She whimpered.  
"I don't know, sweetheart," he answered in a soft tone.  
"I love him. I love him so much," her voice was slowly breaking as she fought to keep the tears back.

It was at that point Roman saw Seth and Dean at the door looking through the room to find them. He noticed she was staring in their direction, and suddenly it hit him that he wasn't sure who her last sentence was meant for - Dolph or Seth. Seth hurried to them, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I got her," he said to Roman.

Roman let go, and Seth helped her outside.

"What a shithole," Dean said when they were finally outside again.

They got in a cab, and made it back to the hotel. Seth carried her up to his room, and laid her down on the bed. She was long gone in dreamland, and he tucked her in. He kissed her forehead, and turned his focus to Roman and Dean.

"Thank you for helping me out tonight," Seth said.  
"Of course, man. We're brothers," Dean said.  
"What are your plans for when she wakes up?" Roman asked.  
"I don't know. Convince her to stay somehow," Seth answered.  
"Need me to come cut a promo on her? You know I'm a fucking champion when it comes to words," Dean joked.  
"No thanks," Seth chuckled.

They said their goodnights, and Dean and Roman left. Seth crawled down next to her in bed. He watched her for a while, running his hand through her hair.

"You're here now, and I'll keep you safe. I won't let you go again," he somehow hoped his words would reach her in her dreams.

He pulled her up on his chest, and held her close.

"I love you, baby. You needed to know that, and I'll prove it to you everyday for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not," he said.


	7. Waking up alone

"No, no, NO!" Seth shouted when he opened his eyes to see nothing but the empty spot on the bed next to him.

She had disappeared during the night like so many times before. How could she even considering how drunk she had been? He had been so sure she would be there in his arms when he woke up, ready to start a new life with him by her side. He grabbed his phone and called her. It went straight to voicemail.

"Where are you, baby? Why the fuck would you leave like that? Fuck! Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout like that. Please, don't do anything stupid. Don't go back to him before we've talked," he pleaded into the phone, hoping she would soon hear it.

He hung up, and looked at the time. He had overslept, and he growled at himself for doing so. Roman and Dean would already be at the arena, sitting in catering with their breakfast. He got dressed, and sprinted towards the arena. Luckily it was close by, so it didn't take him long to get there.

He kept hoping all the way that it was just a mistake. She would be there next to Dean and Roman, eating breakfast, smiling. She had just let him sleep. He knew he was only dreaming, and reality hit him as soon as she went through the door and saw she wasn't there.

"Fuck!" He shouted, making all eyes in the room look at him.

He turned back around, but didn't get far before Roman and Dean came running after him.

"What's wrong? Where is she?" Roman asked.  
"She's gone. I woke up, and she wasn't there," Seth answered.

He started walking down the hallway, not knowing where to go. He stopped and looked at his brothers with pleading eyes.

"Fuck! We need to find her," he begged.  
"And we will. First we pay a visit to the doctors' station," Roman said.

That sounded like a good plan. Go there and check up on Dolph.

"He's not here," the doctor said.  
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.  
"You three sure gave him an ass kicking of a lifetime last night, but besides a whole lot of bruises and a headache, he was free to go early this morning, so he left," the doctor answered.

They took off again, and searched through the arena until they finally found Lana.

"Lana, please, tell me you know where she is," Seth begged.  
"She's missing?" Lana asked confused.  
"God, no," Seth said in a low tone.  
"Get it together, Seth," Roman said before turning to face Lana. "You keep calling her and texting. At some point I'm sure she'll reach out to you of all people."  
"You can count on me," Lana said.

The three men hurried back to the hotel.

"You wait here. You're not sane enough at this point to strike up a polite conversation," Roman said.

He left Dean and Seth standing by the door while he walked over to the desk to talk to the receptionist.

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Dean said, not sure if he believed his own words.

Roman came back a couple of minutes later.

"They checked out," he said.  
"No, this isn't happening," Seth growled.

Roman grabbed his shoulders and held on tight.

"Hey, look at me. They can't hide forever. They might not be there tonight, but at some point Dolph is bound to get back in that ring," he said.  
"And where he goes, she goes," Dean added.  
"I know it's hard, and that you're suffering right now, but you need to pull it together. If not for yourself or us, then for her," Roman said.

Seth went through the day in a daze. Calling her several times, leaving more voicemails, sending her texts, begging her to reach out to him at some point. She never replied, and he was going out of his mind.

It was a very angry and frustrated man that took to the ring that night with his two brothers. He delivered punishment like never before, letting his anger rain down on their poor opponents. Dean and Roman had to drag him out of the ring, afraid he might end up killing someone if they didn't get him out of there.


	8. Room 709

Two days passed before Dolph returned to the ring, but Pandora didn't return alongside with him. It took every last drop of willpower within Seth to hold back from beating the shit out of Dolph in the ring. He knew that if he did, he would never find out where she was.

A week went by like that. Only Dolph was at the arenas. Each hotel they checked in to, they saw Dolph walking in and out, but his or Pandora's name were never in any of the hotels' databases. Whatever fake name he used to check in, no one knew.

For the entire week her phone was shut off. Seth called at least once every hour, left voicemail after voicemail, texted her numerous times, always leaving his room number for her on each hotel they went to, begging for her to reach out and contact him or anybody at all. He just needed to know that she was okay.

Lana and Rusev were walking through the arena. They were on their way out of the place to go back to the hotel when Lana's phone rang. Her eyes widened when she saw the caller ID. She grabbed Rusev's arm, and stopped before answering.

"Pandora?" Lana asked.

Rusev's eyes widened too when he heard his girlfriend ask that name.

"Lana?" Pandora's voice sounded on the other end.  
"It's me, baby girl. Where are you?" Lana asked.  
"Oh Lana, it's horrible. I can't take it anymore," Pandora cried.  
"Hang on just two seconds, baby girl. Don't hang up on me. Just hang on," Lana said.

She put her hand over the phone, so Pandora couldn't hear her. Then she turned to Rusev.

"Go find Seth, and bring him here," she said.  
"They're in the ring right now," Rusev said.  
"Then go and wait for them to be done. Don't let them get away. Bring them here fast," Lana shooed him away.

"Are you still there, baby girl?" Lana asked into the phone.  
"Yeah," Pandora answered.  
"Where are you?" Lana asked.

Rusev waited in the hallway right outside the top of the stairs as The Shield made their way out of the ring and out of the arena that way.

"Rusev?" Dean spotted him first.  
"You need to come with me fast. Lana's got her on the phone," Rusev said.

Seth's eyes immediately turned from angry to concerned.

"Where is she?" He shouted.  
"Come with me," Rusev said.

He took off with all three Shield members right behind him.

"Where is she?" Seth screamed the moment he saw Lana.  
"Hey hey, calm down," Roman placed a hand on Seth's arm to hold him back.  
"Seth, listen to me. Dolph has had his dad reserve rooms in each hotel under his name. That's why you haven't been able to find them. He took her phone from her, but she managed to sneak it out of his bag today before he went here," Lana quickly explained.  
"I don't care about that. Just tell me where she is," Seth begged.

"Here is Dolph Ziggler!"

All eyes turned to the monitor in the room next to him, and they watched Dolph walk down to the ring. Lana cracked a little smile.

"Perfect timing. Go get her now. Room 709," Lana said.

Seth sprinted out of the arena with Roman and Dean hot on his trail. He ran into the hotel. He couldn't wait for the slow elevator to arrive, so he flew up the stairs instead. He didn't stop until he was in front of the door to room 709. He tried the handle but of course it was locked. He started pounding his fists into the door, calling her name, begging for her to open. Roman and Dean joined in on the banging. All three men pounded away, screaming for her to open, but there was no response from the other side.

"Stand back!" Seth shouted.

Dean and Roman had hardly moved out of the way before Seth started kicking the door in.

With the fourth kick the door finally opened, and Seth pushed his way through the broken wood. He scanned the room quickly, but the room was empty. He went to the bathroom only to find that door locked too. Without thinking he kicked that open as well. It gave way easier than the other door, and he found himself inside the bathroom within seconds.

"No, no, no!" He yelled as he ran to her.

She was passed out on the floor. She looked horrible from the blows Dolph had been delivering to her through out the week, but Seth couldn't focuse on that right now. Next to her was her phone and an empty bottle of pills, and it was the last item that concerned him the most right now.

"Come on, baby, you don't get to give up now. We've come too far to end this way," he yanked her body towards the shower.

He held her around her waist with one arm as he stuck two fingers down her throat. Both Dean and Roman sighed in relief behind them when she started vomiting a few seconds later.

"That's it, baby, get it all out of your system," Seth said.

Dean's phone started ringing, and he took it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" He asked.  
"He's coming. Dolph's on his way back. I hope you got her out of there already," Lana's voice sounded from the other end.  
"We're working on it. Thanks Lana," Dean hung up.  
"Lana?" Roman looked at Dean.  
"Yeah, I figured it was a good idea to give her my number. Turns out I was right," Dean answered before touching Seth's shoulder. "Alright, we need to go. Dolph's on his way back here.  
"Let's go, baby," Seth lifted up her unconscious body, and carried her out of the room.

Dean ran ahead, and pushed the button to the elevator. He held the door open, and waited for them to get there.

"Give me your key cards," Roman held out his hand.

Dean and Seth gave them to him.

"Get her to the car. I'll grab our stuff quickly, and then we'll get the hell out of here before Dolph realizes we got her," Roman said, and then he ran towards the stairs.  
"Is she alright?" Dean asked as the elevator closed.  
"She's breathing. That's all that matters right now," Seth answered.

He laid her down on the back seat of the car, and sat next to her, gently pulling her head up on his lap. He ran his hand over her face while trying to hold back his tears.

"Look what he did to my baby," he said in a low tone as he traced the bruises on her face.  
"Don't worry, he'll pay for this," Dean said.

Roman came running towards the car with three bags in his hands. He threw them in the trunk, and got in the car. Three seconds later they were leaving the parking lot.

"Get Lana on the phone. Put it on speaker," Seth said.

Dean took out his phone and called.

"Hello?" Lana asked.  
"We got her, Lana, we got her," Dean said.  
"Thank god," Lana said.  
"Lana, which name have you reserved your hotel room under?" Seth asked.  
"Rusev's. Why?" Lana asked back.  
"Can I get you to reserve a suite in your name? I'll pay of course. I just need to be able to keep her safe somehow, and you know damn well Dolph will check to see if she or any of us have checked in," Seth said.  
"Of course. I'll do it right away," Lana hung up before any of them could thank her.

Three minutes later a text from Lana arrived.

 _"All taken care of. Reserved in my name, and they know a handsome man will come for the key soon. Up to you to decide which one of you is handsome."_

"Odd time to joke," Roman said, but couldn't help but smile.  
"We need it right about now," Dean smiled too.


	9. Winner takes it all

She opened her eyes and looked around. She didn't recognize the room. She felt an arm around her waist, and she knew it was Seth. He had held her like that so many times, and she knew it was him without having to turn around and look at him. She tried to wiggle her way out of his grip, but he tightened it.

"No!" He growled.

He crawled as close to her as he could get.

"I'm very angry with you. Taking pills and shit. You should have called me," he said.  
"I'm sorry," she said in a low voice, almost whispering.

She felt so embarrassed. It had been a moment of weakness. She just couldn't take it anymore right at that point.

"I'm also relieved I got to you in time. Shit, Pandora, with everything we've been through, and me finally letting you know how I feel, I can't bear to lose you like that," he once again tightened his grip around her waist.

She took a deep breath, and rolled over on her back. She had to look at him at some point, and it might as well be sooner rather than later. He leaned up on his elbow, and placed his hand under his head. He looked down at her as his fingers from his other hand trailed up and down her arm.

"Why did you leave me that night?" He asked.  
"I didn't," she answered.  
"What else do you call it? I woke up, you were gone, and I just spent a little over a week going insane because I couldn't get a hold of you. But you didn't leave me?" He was feeling slightly angry.  
"I woke up early that morning still drunk as fuck, and I needed some air. I was trying to get to the balcony, and I opened the first door I came by just to find myself standing in the hallway. In my drunken state of mind I thought I'd just go downstairs and walk outside for a while," she said.  
"So what happened? You just decided you didn't wanna come back after all?" He asked.

She looked at him with sad eyes. She couldn't blame him for thinking like that. It was what she usually did. Leave him once they were done. But this time it was different. She had wanted to stay.

"I never made it downstairs. The doctors had released Dolph, and he had come back just to find our room empty. Well, you declaring your love didn't go unnoticed. It was all over social medias, and a quick replay of the match showed him just what he needed to know. He got your room number from the receptionist, and he was waiting in the hallway when I came stumbling out," she answered.

Her words went straight in, and all anger left his body.

"Oh baby," he said.

He leaned down, wrapping his arms around her, and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around him. It was now or never. It was easier to say now when he was hiding his face like that instead of looking him in the eyes.

"You were right that night. I don't love him anymore. I haven't for a long time. I just kept hoping things would go back to normal. I don't even know why," she said.

He moved his head a little. She knew he was trying to look at her from his spot, but she kept her eyes on the ceiling.

"I've known for a while I felt the same way about you. I'm pretty sure I accidently blurted it out to Roman at the bar although he never said anything back to me," she said.  
"Say it," he said.

She sighed. Why was it so hard? He leaned in and kissed her neck, gently teasing her with his tongue, knowing it was a soft spot for her.

"Come on, say it," he said in a light tone before letting his tongue run over the spot again.  
"Fine. I love you," she finally gave in.

He lifted his head up and looked at her.

"Say it again," he said with a smile on his face.  
"I love you, you idiot," she smiled back.  
"Oh yeah, I'm the idiot now?" He asked.  
"Just shut up," she reached her hand behind his neck to pull him down for a kiss.  
"I love you too, baby," he murmured against her lips.

After a while he broke the kiss with a smile, and got out of bed.

"Now, here's the plan for today. You go take a shower. Lana is stopping by with some clothes for you since we didn't think about grabbing your stuff yesterday in our hurry. Later the guys and I will go to the arena," he said.  
"Do you have to?" She asked.

The fear in her eyes hurt him. He sat down on the bed, and pulled her up on his lap.

"You're safe here. The room is in Lana's name. He'll never find you. Besides, I'm only going there to call him out and challenge him. I won't do anything stupid," he said.  
"Be careful. He still has friends there that will come to his aid," she said.  
"Even after they see what he did to you? I took a picture of you while you were sleeping, and with your permission I will show it to anybody to let them know what a scumbag he is," he said.

She nodded to silently give him permission. 

"And I'm keeping it, so I can show it to you if you ever feel a moment of weakness, and even as much as think about going back to him again," he said.  
"I won't," she leaned her head down on his shoulder.  
"You better not. Now that I finally got you, I'm not about to let you go again," he said.

That night she sat on the couch with Lana by her side. They were watching the show on TV. She was nervous as The Shield made their way down to the ring.

"I don't wanna see him get hurt," she said.

Lana patted her hand.

"Don't worry, baby girl, he won't. Seth knows what he's doing. He's out there fighting for you. No way he's gonna allow himself to go down," Lana said.

"Dolph! You and I have some unfinished business!" Seth called out.

Ten seconds later Dolph appeared on the ramp.

"You have something that belongs to me," he said.  
"Really? I can't think of anything," Seth said.  
"Pandora. You got my girlfriend, and I want her back," Dolph said.  
"That's funny. Last time I checked she was my girlfriend. She even told me she loved me this morning in my bed. When's the last time she said that to you? When's the last time she willingly got into bed with you?" Seth taunted.  
"We hate doing this teenage style with a middle man, but she's breaking up with you," Dean laughed.

Dolph walked back and forward for a little while, scratching his head, trying to keep his temper under control. It didn't work though.

"I want her back!" He screamed.  
"Fine, you and me tomorrow. We put our careers and Pandora on the line. Winner takes all, loser never sets foot in this company again. It's all or nothing. Take it or leave it," Seth said.  
"I'll take it," Dolph said.  
"And we'll make it a no DQ match," Seth said.  
"I knew it. You're too scared to face me one on one. Just have to make sure your boys can run in and help you, huh? Well, guess what! I have friends in this company as well, so you're on!" Dolph shouted.  
"Glad you said that. No going back now that you agreed. Whoever your friends in the back are, I urge them to take a look at the screen right now," Seth pointed towards it.

Dolph looked up, and so did everyone in the audience. A picture of Pandora with bruises on her face showed.

"That's why no one has seen Pandora for a week. Dolph's got a nasty problem with keeping his hands off women. Those bruises are the work of him. That's the kind of man he is. Anyone back there still wanna call themselves his friend, and help him get her back in his violent arms?" Seth asked.

He looked around. The audience was screaming "no" and different ugly words towards Dolph. Seth smirked up at Dolph's angry face before dropping the microphone and jumping out of the ring. Roman and Dean followed.

"Tomorrow!" Seth shouted and pointed at Dolph before all three men jumped over the barricade and walked up the stairs.

Pandora snuggled on Seth's chest that night. He held on tight to her while letting his fingers run over her upper body.

"I won't pretend I'm not scared about tomorrow," she said.  
"I won't lose, baby. I can't lose with you on the line. I refuse," he said.  
"I wanna be there," she said.  
"No, baby, it's too dangerous. He might go for you," he said.

She sighed. She knew he was right, but that didn't change that she wanted to be there. She didn't say anything else about it, but her mind was still thinking about it. She wanted to be there.

Lana came by the next night to stay with Pandora while the guys went to the arena. As soon as they were gone, Pandora turned to look at Lana.

"I wanna go there. I wanna be there," she said.  
"Baby girl, that's not a good idea," Lana said.  
"I don't care. I'm going, Lana. You can either choose to stay here, or be my partner in crime," Pandora said.  
"Like I would ever let you go alone," Lana said.

Pandora smiled widely.

"Just gonna call Rusev and tell him we're coming. He'll meet us in the parking lot, and we can hide in his locker room," Lana said.

Shortly after they were sitting in Rusev's locker room, watching the show on a monitor. She got more and more tense as the show progressed, and her nerves were on end as the match was finally about to take place. Dolph came down to the ring first. As soon as she saw Seth starting to walk down the stairs, she jumped to her feet.

"I can't take this," she hissed.

She hurried out of the locker room. Lana followed her fast.

"Pandora, think about what you're doing. Don't go in there," she said.  
"I need to be near him. What if he loses, Lana? Have you thought about that? You all talk big words and try to tell me everything will be fine. But nothing is fine! He might lose! And where does that leave me?" Pandora yelled.  
"Miss Pandora," Dean's voice sounded.

Both women turned their heads to see Dean and Roman walk over to them. Dean put his arm around Pandora, and started walking towards the gorilla.

"Don't worry, in a moment we'll storm down there. Seth just asked us to wait a little, so he could have some fun on his own to begin with," Dean said.  
"Jesus, how can you be so calm about this?" Pandora asked.  
"Because it's us and it's Seth. When have you ever seen us not having a situation under control?" Dean winked.  
"We got this," Roman chanted in.  
"Now let's go raise some hell," Dean said.

She watched as they stormed into the arena and down the ramp. Her eyes were glued to the monitor. Dean and Roman stalked around the ring, still letting Seth do his thing in there, just waiting and watching. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Miz standing there. He had concern in his eyes.

"I just need to know one thing, so don't lie to me. Did Dolph really do that to you?" He pointed at her face.  
"He did," she answered, biting her lip.

He looked at her for a couple of seconds before he suddenly smiled and turned around to face the other few men standing there.

"Alright boys, beers on me tonight. We're off duty," he said.

They all left, and she sighed in relief. She turned her head back to the monitor just to see Dolph being thrown out of the ring. Dean and Roman stalked towards him. She saw Dolph reach for something under the ring.

"Fuck this shit!" She yelled.

She stormed out on the ramp before Lana could stop her. She ran down the ramp as Dolph lifted a steel chair in his hands. He tried to defend himself, and Dean got the first hit as he was the first one over there. Dolph took some steps backwards, and Roman yanked Dean to his feet.

"Dolph!" Pandora shouted as she made her way down there.

She didn't care anymore. Roman tried to grab her as she passed them, but she was too quick. She placed herself between the two men and Dolph.

"Stop this insanity. Just give up and leave," she pleaded.

He grinned and lifted the chair. The audience booed louder than ever when they realized he was about to take a swing at her. The chair never came down. Dolph flew sideways into the commentator table as Seth came flying through the ropes, hitting him with a suicide dive. The air was knocked out of him, and he went to the floor.

"Come on!" Seth shouted as he lifted his hand up in the air.

Dean ran past her, and she felt Roman's arm around her waist. He gently pushed her aside before returning to the spot she had just been in. He roared up in the air as Seth and Dean lifted Dolph up on his shoulders. Two seconds later the commentator table crashed to the ground as Dolph went through it. All three men yanked the lifeless Dolph up, and rolled him into the ring. Seth followed quickly and pinned him.

"1... 2... 3..." The referee counted.

The bell rang, and the audience cheered.

"Here is your winner: Seth Rollins!"

Seth quickly rolled out of the ring again. His eyes were firmly planted on her as he walked the few steps towards her. He grabbed her, lifted her up, sat her up on the barricade next to some screaming fans, and kissed her. He felt so many hands pat his shoulders and arms while congratulating words rained down on him, but he couldn't take it in right in that moment. All that mattered to him was her, and she was there right in front of him. She was finally his.

They broke the kiss as they heard Roman growl. They looked at him and saw the fury in his eyes as he watched Dolph closely. Dean was next to him, cracking his knuckles, giving Dolph a death stare. It was a broken man that made his way past them and up the ramp. He didn't say anything or even look back. He just kept walking up the ramp, out of the arena, and towards the hotel. He packed up right away, and left without telling anyone.

Seth lifted her down from the barricade again, grabbed her hand, and walked up the ramp with Dean and Roman following suit. The audience kept cheering until they finally were out of sight. When they were finally out of the arena and making their way back to the hotel, Dean finally took the word.

"Miss Pandora, since you're traveling with us from now on, I just gotta say one thing. No funny business in the back seat unless I'm invited to join in," he grinned.

Seth slapped him over his head.

"I'm not sharing. She's all mine," he pulled her in for a kiss before whispering into her ear. "Mine forever."


End file.
